Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band formed on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
in
Stony Brook, New York
Stony Brook is a political subdivisions of New York#Hamlet, hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, Town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the No ...
, in 1967, and best known for the singles "
(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "
Burnin' for You
"Burnin' for You" is a song by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult. It was released as the lead single from the band's eighth studio album, '' Fire of Unknown Origin'', released in June 1981, where it was the album's second track. The song ...
", and "
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...
". The band has sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States alone. Blue Öyster Cult‘s music videos, especially "Burnin' for You", received heavy rotation on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
when the music television network premiered in 1981, cementing the band's contribution to the development and success of the music video in modern popular culture.
Blue Öyster Cult's longest-lasting and the most commercially successful lineup included
Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals),
Eric Bloom
Eric Jay Bloom (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist, guitar and keyboard/synthesizer player for the long-running band Blue Öyster Cult, with work on more than 20 albu ...
(lead vocals, "
stun guitar", keyboards, synthesizer),
Allen Lanier
Allen Glover Lanier (; June 25, 1946 – August 14, 2013) was an American musician who played keyboards and rhythm guitar. He was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult.
Lanier wrote several songs for Blue Öyster Cult albums, including "T ...
(keyboards, rhythm guitar),
Joe Bouchard
Joseph J. Bouchard (; born November 9, 1948) is an American musician. He was the bassist and one of the lead singers of the hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult during their most successful period. He is the younger brother of original Blue Öyster ...
(bass, vocals, keyboards), and
Albert Bouchard
Albert Thomas Bouchard (; born May 24, 1947) is an American musician. He is a founding member and the original drummer of the hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult and current drummer of The Dictators. He is the brother of former Blue Öyster Cult ...
(drums, percussion, vocals, miscellaneous instruments). The band's current lineup still includes Bloom and Roeser, in addition to Danny Miranda (bass, backing vocals),
Richie Castellano (keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), and Jules Radino (drums, percussion). The duo of the band's manager
Sandy Pearlman
Samuel Clarke "Sandy" Pearlman (August 5, 1943 – July 26, 2016) was an American music producer, artist manager, music journalist and critic, professor, poet, songwriter, and record company executive. He was best known for founding, writing for, ...
and rock critic
Richard Meltzer
Richard Meltzer (born May 10, 1945) is an American rock critic, performer, writer and songwriter. He is considered by some rock historians to be the first to write real analysis of rock and roll and is credited with inventing "rock criticism".
B ...
, who also met at
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
, played a key role in writing many of the band’s lyrics.
History
Early years as Soft White Underbelly (1967–1971)
Blue Öyster Cult was formed in 1967 as Soft White Underbelly (a name the group would occasionally use in the 1970s and 1980s to play small club gigs around the United States and UK) in a communal house at Stony Brook University on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
when rock critic Sandy Pearlman overheard a jam session consisting of fellow Stony Brook classmate Donald Roeser and his friends.
Pearlman offered to become the band's manager and creative partner, to which the band agreed.
The band's original lineup consisted of guitarist Roeser, drummer Albert Bouchard, keyboardist Allen Lanier, singers Jeff Kagel (aka
Krishna Das) and Les Braunstein and bassist Andrew Winters.
In October 1967, the band made their debut performance as Steve Noonan's backing band at the
Stony Brook University Gymnasium, a gig booked by Pearlman.
The band's name came from
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
's description of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
as "the soft underbelly of the
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
* Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
."
Pearlman was important to the band – he was able to get them
gigs and recording contracts with
Elektra and
Columbia, and he provided them with his poetry for use as lyrics for many of their songs, including "Astronomy". Writer Richard Meltzer, also a Stony Brook University student, provided the band with lyrics from their early days up through their most recent studio album. In 1968, the band moved in together at their first house in the
Thomaston area of
Great Neck, New York
Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck (village), New York, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, New York, Great Neck Es ...
. The band recorded an album's worth of material for Elektra Records in 1968.
Braunstein played his final show as Soft White Underbelly's lead singer in the spring of 1969.
His departure led Elektra to shelve the album recorded with him on vocals.
Eric Bloom was hired by the band as their
acoustic engineer and eventually became lead singer, replacing Braunstein, through a series of three unlikely coincidences. One was that Lanier decided to join Bloom on a drive to an
upstate gig, where he spent the night with Bloom's old college bandmates and got to hear old tapes of Bloom's talent as lead vocalist. Because of this, Bloom was offered the job of lead singer for Soft White Underbelly.
However, a bad review of a 1969 Fillmore East show caused Pearlman to change the name of the band – first to Oaxaca, then to the Stalk-Forrest Group. Pearlman also gave stage names to each of the band members (Jesse Python for Eric Bloom, Andy Panda for Andy Winters, Prince Omega for Albert Bouchard, La Verne for Allen Lanier) but only Buck Dharma kept his. The band recorded yet another album's worth of material for Elektra, but only one single ("What Is Quicksand?"
b/w "Arthur Comics") was released (and only in a promo edition of 300 copies) on Elektra Records (this album was eventually released, with additional outtakes, by Rhino Handmade Records as ''
St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings'' in 2001). The album featured Bloom as their main lead singer, but Roeser also sang lead on a few songs, a pattern of sharing lead vocals that has continued throughout the band's career. Under Bloom, Soft White Underbelly and Stalk-Forrest Group became Stony Brook University house bands which were popular on campus.
After a few more temporary band names, including the Santos Sisters, the band settled on Blue Öyster Cult in 1971 (see
below for its origin).
New York City producer/composer and jingle writer
David Lucas saw the band perform and took them into his Warehouse Recording Studio and produced four demos, with which Pearlman was able to get the renamed band another audition with Columbia Records.
Clive Davis
Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000.
From 1967 to 1 ...
liked what he heard, and signed the band to the label. The first album was subsequently produced and recorded by Lucas on eight-track at Lucas' studio. Winters would leave the band and be replaced by Bouchard's brother,
Joe Bouchard
Joseph J. Bouchard (; born November 9, 1948) is an American musician. He was the bassist and one of the lead singers of the hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult during their most successful period. He is the younger brother of original Blue Öyster ...
.
Black-and-white years (1971–1975)
![Blue Öyster Cult (1974)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Blue_%C3%96yster_Cult_%281974%29.png)
Their debut album ''
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...
'' was released in January 1972, with a black-and-white cover designed by artist Bill Gawlik. The album featured the songs "
Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll
"Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" is the debut single by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult from their eponymous debut album ''Blue Öyster Cult''. Despite not charting, it has become a staple at concerts, and is regarded as one of thei ...
", "Stairway to the Stars", and "Then Came the Last Days of May". By this time, the band's sound had become more oriented toward hard rock, but songs like "She's As Beautiful As a Foot" and "Redeemed" also showed a strong element of the band's psychedelic roots. Pearlman wanted the group to be the American answer to
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
. All of the band members except for Allen Lanier sang lead, a pattern that would continue on many subsequent albums, although lead singer Eric Bloom sang the majority of the songs. The album sold well, and Blue Öyster Cult toured with artists such as
the Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
,
Mahavishnu Orchestra
The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 a ...
and
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
. During the touring process, the band's sound became heavier and more direct.
Their next album ''
Tyranny and Mutation
''Tyranny and Mutation'' (stylized on the cover as ''THE BLVE ÖYSTER CVLT: TYRANNY AND MVTATION'') is the second studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on February 11, 1973 by Columbia Records. It was produced by ...
'', released in 1973, was written while the band was on tour for their first LP. It contained songs such as "The Red and the Black" (an ode to the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
and a rewrite of "I'm on the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep" from their debut album, and also a reference to
the novel of the same name by Stendhal), "Hot Rails to Hell" and "Baby Ice Dog", the first of the band's many collaborations with
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''.
Called the "punk poe ...
. It featured a harder-rocking approach than before, although the band's songs were also growing more complex. The album outsold its predecessor, a trend that would continue with their next few albums.
The band's third album, ''
Secret Treaties
A secret treaty is a treaty ( international agreement) in which the contracting state parties have agreed to conceal the treaty's existence or substance from other states and the public.Helmut Tichy and Philip Bittner, "Article 80" in Olivier D ...
'' (1974) received positive reviews, featuring songs such as "Career of Evil" (co-written by Patti Smith), "Dominance and Submission" and "
Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
". As a result of constant touring, the band was now capable of headlining shows. The album continued their upward sales trend, and would eventually go gold.
As the three albums during this formative period all had black-and-white covers, the period of their career has been dubbed the 'black and white years' by fans and critics.
Commercial success (1975–1981)
The band's first live album ''
On Your Feet or on Your Knees
''On Your Feet or on Your Knees'' is the first live album by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released by Columbia Records on February 27, 1975. The album features three songs from each of the band's first three studio albums, two covers (" ...
'' (1975) achieved greater success and went gold. Its success gave the band more time to work on a follow-up. The band members were able to purchase home recording equipment to record demos for their next album.
Their next studio album, ''
Agents of Fortune
''Agents of Fortune'' is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released by Columbia Records on May 21, 1976.
The Platinum-selling album peaked at No. 29 on the U.S. Billboard chart, while the cryptic single "( ...
'' (1976), was their first to go platinum and was again produced by David Lucas. It contained the hit single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", which reached number 12 on the Billboard charts and has become a classic of the hard rock genre. Other major songs on the album were "(This Ain't) The Summer of Love", "E.T.I. (Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence)" and "The Revenge of Vera Gemini". Having recorded demos of the songs at home before recording the album, the band's songwriting process had become more individual, with none of the songs featuring the collaborative writing between the band members that had been common on their earlier albums. Although the album still featured their trademark hard rock with sinister lyrics, the songs had become more conventional in structure, and the production was more polished. For the first and only time, the album featured lead vocals from all five band members, with Allen Lanier singing lead on the song "True Confessions." With Albert Bouchard singing lead on three songs and Joe Bouchard and Donald Roeser singing lead on one each, Eric Bloom ended up taking the lead on only four of the album's ten songs.
For the tour, the band added lasers to their light show, for which they became known. They were among the first acts to use lasers in performance.
Their next album, ''
Spectres'' (1977), had the FM radio hit "Godzilla," and would become one of the band's better-selling albums, with other well-known songs like "I Love the Night" and "Goin' Through the Motions". However, its sales were not as strong as those for the previous album, going gold but not platinum, becoming their first album to sell less than its predecessor. It featured even more polished production, and continued the trend of the lead vocals extensively shared between members, although Allen Lanier did not sing lead. As with the previous album, Eric Bloom sang lead on fewer than half the songs.
The band then released another live album, ''
Some Enchanted Evening
"Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''South Pacific''. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Mast, Gerald''Can't Help Singin': ...
'' (1978). Although it was intended as another double-live album in the vein of ''On Your Feet or on Your Knees'', Columbia insisted that it be edited down to single-album length. It was a resounding commercial success, becoming Blue Öyster Cult's most popular album and eventually selling over two million copies. It also revealed that while the band's studio work was becoming increasingly well-produced, they were still very much a hard rock band on stage.
![Blue Oyster Cult 1977 publicity photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Blue_Oyster_Cult_1977_publicity_photo.jpg)
It was followed by the studio album ''
Mirrors
A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...
'' (1979). For ''Mirrors'', instead of working with previous producers Sandy Pearlman (who instead went on to manage Black Sabbath) and Murray Krugman, Blue Öyster Cult chose
Tom Werman
Tom Werman (born 1945) is an American former record producer responsible for many hard rock and heavy metal albums.
Early life and education
Werman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Newton. He earned a bachelor's degree and an ...
, who had worked with acts such as
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...
and
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock an ...
. It featured the band's glossiest production to date. It also gave Roeser, the lead vocalist on the band's biggest hits, bigger prominence as a vocalist, singing lead on four of the nine songs. However, the resulting album sales were disappointing.
Pearlman's association with Black Sabbath led to Sabbath's ''
Heaven and Hell'' producer
Martin Birch
Martin Birch (27 December 19489 August 2020) was a British music producer and sound engineer. He became renowned for engineering and producing albums recorded predominantly by British rock bands, including Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac, W ...
being hired for the next Blue Öyster Cult record. The album found the band returning to their hard rock roots, and although both of the Bouchard brothers and guitarist Roeser all got lead vocal turns, Bloom would sing the majority of the tracks. The result was positive, with ''
Cultösaurus Erectus
''Cultösaurus Erectus'' is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on June 14, 1980. Following an experiment with a more-polished sound on the album ''Mirrors'' (released the previous year), this recordi ...
'' (1980) receiving good reviews. The album went to number 12 in the United Kingdom, but did not do as well in the United States. The song "
Black Blade", which was written by Bloom with lyrics by science fiction and fantasy author
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has work ...
, is a kind of retelling of Moorcock's epic
Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by English writer Michael Moorcock and the protagonist of a series of sword and sorcery stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VII ...
saga. The band also did a co-headlining tour with Black Sabbath in support of the album, calling the tour "
Black and Blue
''Black and Blue'' is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976 by Rolling Stones Records.
This album was the first recorded after former guitarist Mick Taylor quit ...
".
Birch produced the band's next album as well, ''
Fire of Unknown Origin
''Fire of Unknown Origin'' is the eighth studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on June 22, 1981. It was produced by Martin Birch.
The album, which included the Top 40 hit "Burnin' for You" (#1 on Billboard's A ...
'' (1981), which peaked at number 24 on the
''Billboard'' 200, becoming the band's highest-charting album. The biggest hit on this album was the Top 40 hit "Burnin' for You," a song Roeser had written with a Richard Meltzer lyric. He had intended to use it on his solo album, ''
Flat Out'' (1982), but he was convinced to use it on the Blue Öyster Cult album instead. The revival of the band's heavier sound continued, albeit with fairly heavy use of synthesizers and some noticeable
New Wave influence on a few tracks. It contained other fan favorites such as "
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
" (inspired by the book and film ''
Mommie Dearest
''Mommie Dearest'' is a memoir and exposé written by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. Published in 1978, it attracted much controversy for its portrayal of Joan Crawford as a cruel, unbalanced, and alcoholic m ...
'') and "
Veteran of the Psychic Wars
"Veteran of the Psychic Wars" is a song by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult. It was written by Eric Bloom and British author Michael Moorcock (creator of Elric of Melniboné). The song first appeared on the 1981 album ''Fire of Unkno ...
", another song co-written by Moorcock. Several of the songs had been written for the animated film ''
Heavy Metal'', but only "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" (which had not been written for ''Heavy Metal'') was actually used in the movie. The album marked a strong commercial resurgence for the band and achieved gold status, their first studio album since ''Spectres'' to do so.
During the tour for ''Fire of Unknown Origin'', Albert Bouchard had a falling out with the others and left the band, and Rick Downey (formerly the band's lighting designer) replaced him on drums. This marked the end of the band's original and best-known lineup.
Decline and fall (1982–1987)
After leaving the band, Albert Bouchard spent five years working on a solo album based on Sandy Pearlman's poem "Imaginos". Blue Öyster Cult also released a third live album ''
Extraterrestrial Live
''Extraterrestrial Live'' is the third live album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, and was released in 1982. It primarily documents the band's 1981 tour in support of '' Fire of Unknown Origin'', but also includes two tracks recor ...
''.
The band then went to the studio for the next album, ''
The Revölution by Night
''The Revölution by Night'' is the ninth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on November 8, 1983. The album was intended to capitalize on the success of '' Fire of Unknown Origin'' two years prior, hence the ble ...
'' (1983), with
Bruce Fairbairn as producer. After two albums of a return to a harder rocking sound, the band adopted a more radio-friendly,
AOR-oriented sound with Fairbairn providing a 1980s-style production. This approach met with some success, especially on its highest-charting single, Roeser's "
Shooting Shark", co-written by Patti Smith and featuring
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013.
Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bas ...
on bass, which reached number 83 on the charts. Bloom's "
Take Me Away" achieved some FM radio play. However, the album didn't match sales of its predecessor, failed to achieve gold status, and marked the beginning of the band's second commercial decline. After touring for ''Revölution'', Rick Downey left, leaving Blue Öyster Cult without a drummer.
Blue Öyster Cult re-united with Albert Bouchard for a California tour in February 1985, infamously known as the 'Albert Returns' Tour. This arrangement was only temporary and caused more tensions between the band and Bouchard, since he had thought he would be staying on permanently, which was not the case. The band had intended to use him only as a fill-in until another drummer could come on board, which resulted in Bouchard's leaving after the tour. Allen Lanier also quit the band shortly thereafter, leaving them without a keyboardist and with only three remaining original members. This incarnation of the band would sometimes be referred to as '3ÖC' by fans, which is a pun on the number of original members left.
Blue Öyster Cult hired drummer Jimmy Wilcox and keyboardist Tommy Zvoncheck to finish the album ''
Club Ninja
''Club Ninja'' is the tenth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on December 10, 1985 in the United Kingdom and on February 11, 1986 in the United States. The album was intended as a comeback for the band, whose pr ...
'', which was poorly received, with only "Dancin' in the Ruins," one of several songs on the record written entirely by outside songwriters, enjoying minimal success on radio and
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. The best-known original on the album is "Perfect Water" written by Dharma and
Jim Carroll
James Dennis Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009) was an American author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work '' The Basketball Diaries'', which inspired a 1995 film of ...
(noted author of ''
The Basketball Diaries''). While the band members have generally been disparaging about the album in retrospect, Joe Bouchard has stated that "Perfect Water" is "perfect genius".
The band toured in Germany, after which bassist Bouchard left, leaving only two members of the classic lineup: Eric Bloom and Donald Roeser. Some people referred to the band as "Two Öyster Cult" during this period. Jon Rogers was hired to replace Joe and this version of the band finished out the 1986 tour. After it wound up that year, the band took a temporary break from recording and touring. When Blue Öyster Cult received an offer to tour in Greece in the early summer of 1987, the band reformed. Wilcox quit while Zvoncheck was fired for making excessive financial demands. Allen Lanier then was offered to rejoin and agreed, so the new line-up now featured three founding members, along with Jon Rogers returning on bass and Ron Riddle as their newest drummer.
Columbia Records was not interested in releasing the ''
Imaginos
''Imaginos'' is the eleventh studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult. It was released in 1988, and was their last recording with their original record label, CBS/Columbia Records.
The album took nearly eight years to c ...
'' project as an Albert Bouchard solo album so it was arranged for the record to be released in 1988 by Columbia as a Blue Öyster Cult album, with some new lead vocal overdubs from Bloom and Roeser and lead guitar overdubs from Roeser. These replaced most of Albert Bouchard's lead vocals, as well as many lead guitar parts that had been recorded by session musicians. Joe Bouchard and Allen Lanier had earlier contributed some minor keyboard and backing vocal parts to the album, allowing all five original members to be credited. The album didn't sell well (despite a positive review in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine) and although the then-current Blue Öyster Cult lineup (minus both Bouchard brothers) toured to promote ''Imaginos'', promotion by the label was virtually non-existent. When Columbia Records' parent company CBS Records was purchased by
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
and became
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
, Blue Öyster Cult were dropped from the label.
1990s and early 2000s
![Allenlanier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Allenlanier.JPG)
The band spent the next 11 years touring without releasing an album of new material, although they did contribute two new songs to the ''
Bad Channels
''Bad Channels'' is a 1992 American science fiction spoof direct-to-video film, produced by Full Moon Features and released by Paramount Home Video. It is about two aliens (Cosmo and Lump) who invade a radio station with the intention of capturi ...
'' movie soundtrack, released in 1992, and also released an album of re-recorded songs from the band's original lineup, called ''
Cult Classic
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
'', in 1994. During these years, while the three original members remained constant, there were several changes in the band's rhythm section. Ron Riddle quit in 1991 and was followed by a series of other drummers including
Chuck Burgi (1991–1992, 1992–1995, 1996–1997),
John Miceli
John Miceli (born May 29, 1961 in Long Island, New York) is the drummer for Meat Loaf's backing band, the Neverland Express.
Meat Loaf
Miceli began touring with Meat Loaf in 1991, and was a part of the Neverland Express when '' Bat Out of Hell ...
(1992, 1995), John O'Reilly (1995–1996) and
Bobby Rondinelli
Robert Rondinelli (born July 27, 1955) is a rock drummer best known for his work with the hard rock/ heavy metal bands Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow, Quiet Riot, Black Sabbath, The Lizards, The Handful, and Rondinelli. In July 2013, Rondinelli wa ...
(1997–2004). As for the bass position, Rogers left in 1995, and was replaced by Danny Miranda.
In the late 1990s, Blue Öyster Cult secured a recording contract with CMC Records (later purchased by
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...
), and continued to tour frequently. Two studio albums were released, ''
Heaven Forbid
''Heaven Forbid'' is the thirteenth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on March 24, 1998. It was the band's first studio album with new material in a decade (not counting the 1992 soundtrack to ''Bad Channels'' ...
'' (1998) and ''
Curse of the Hidden Mirror
''Curse of the Hidden Mirror'' is the fourteenth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in June 5, 2001. The only single from the record was the poorly received "Pocket". Lackluster sales and poor relations led to ...
'' (2001). Both albums featured songs co-written by cyberpunk/horror novelist
John Shirley
John Shirley (born February 10, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of fantasy, science fiction, dark street fiction, westerns, and songwriting. He has also written one historical novel, a western about Wyatt Earp, ''Wyatt in Wichita'', and ...
. The first mostly featured Miranda on bass and Burgi on drums, although a few tracks feature earlier bassist Jon Rogers and one track features Rondinelli on drums, who had joined the band near the end of the recording. ''Curse of the Hidden Mirror'' features Miranda and Rondinelli as the rhythm section, and the pair contributed to the songwriting as well. Neither album sold well.
Another live record and DVD ''
A Long Day's Night
''A Long Day's Night'' is a live album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, recorded in Chicago, Illinois, on 21 June 2002. It is so named because that day was 2002's summer solstice, the longest day of the year.
The concert was rel ...
'' followed in 2002, both drawn from one concert in Chicago. This album also featured the Bloom, Roeser, Lanier, Miranda, Rondinelli lineup.
Although the band's lineup had remained stable from 1997 to 2004, they began to experience personnel changes again in 2004. Rondinelli left in 2004, and was replaced by Jules Radino. Miranda left during the same year to become the bassist for
Queen + Paul Rodgers in place of the retired
John Deacon
John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bite ...
. He was replaced by Richie Castellano, who would also take occasional turns as a lead vocalist onstage.
In 2001, Sony/Columbia's reissue arm,
Legacy Records
In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property.
Legacy or legacies may refer ...
issued expanded versions of the first four Blue Öyster Cult studio albums, including some previously unreleased demos and outtakes from album sessions, live recordings (from the ''Live 72'' EP), and post-''St. Cecilia'' tunes from the Stalk-Forrest Group era.
Late 2000s and 2010s
![Blue Öyster Cult Sweden Rock 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Blue_%C3%96yster_Cult_Sweden_Rock_2008.jpg)
Allen Lanier retired from live performances in 2007 after not appearing with the band since late 2006. Castellano switched to rhythm guitar and keyboards (Castellano also filled in on lead guitar and vocals for an ailing Buck Dharma in two shows in 2005), and the position of bassist was taken up by
Rudy Sarzo
Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban American hard rock/ heavy metal bassist. He remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played ...
(previously a member of
Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni.
The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew F ...
,
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...
,
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
and
Dio), with the band employing Danny Miranda and Jon Rogers as guest bassists to fill in when Sarzo was unavailable. Sarzo then joined as an official member of the band, although Rogers continued to occasionally fill in when Sarzo was busy.
In February 2007, the Sony Legacy remaster series continued, releasing expanded versions of studio album ''Spectres'' and live album ''Some Enchanted Evening''.
In June 2012, the band announced that bassist Rudy Sarzo was leaving the band and was being replaced by former
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
bassist
Kasim Sulton
Kasim Sulton (born December 8, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States. As a solo artist, Sulton ...
.
In August of the same year, it was announced that Sony Legacy would be releasing a 17-disc boxed set entitled ''The Complete Columbia Albums Collection'' on October 30, 2012. The set includes the first round of the remastered series plus the long-awaited remastered versions of ''On Your Feet or on Your Knees'', ''Mirrors'', ''Cultösaurus Erectus'', ''Fire Of Unknown Origin'', ''Extraterrestrial Live'', ''The Revölution by Night'', ''Club Ninja'' and ''Imaginos''. Also exclusive to this set are two discs of rare and unreleased B-sides, demos and radio broadcasts.
Also in 2012, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Blue Öyster Cult, the then-current incarnation of the band reunited for the first time in 25 years with other original members Joe and Albert Bouchard and Allen Lanier as guests for a special event in New York.
Founding keyboardist/guitarist Allen Lanier died of
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce ...
on August 14, 2013.
In 2016, Albert Bouchard played again as guest with the current line-up of the band, playing at shows in New York, Los Angeles, Dublin and London, where Blue Öyster Cult played the album ''Agents of Fortune'' in its entirety. The shows featured songs from ''Agents of Fortune'' that had either not been played live before ("True Confessions", "The Revenge of Vera Gemini", "Sinful Love", "Tenderloin", "Debbie Denise"), songs that had not been played since the album's debut tour ("Morning Final"), and songs that were either no longer or never were played frequently ("This Ain't the Summer of Love", "Tattoo Vampire"), as well as the fan favorite "Five Guitars", which had not been played since Albert initially left the band in 1981. Albert played in the following songs at the show: "The Revenge of Vera Gemini" (vocals, guitar), "Sinful Love" (vocals, guitar), "Tattoo Vampire" (guitar), "Morning Final" (guitar), "Tenderloin" (cymbals), "Debbie Denise" (vocals, acoustic guitar), "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" (vocals, drums), and "Five Guitars" (guitar).
In a May 2017 appearance on Castellano's "Band Geek" podcast, Bloom confirmed that there were tentative plans to release a new album in 2018 and that the band was currently considering offers from multiple record labels. He also stated that former bassist Danny Miranda would be playing with the band for the remainder of the year due to Sulton's prior touring commitments with
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...
. During the same year, the band's official website started to list Miranda as an official member, stating that Miranda had "returned to BÖC" in early 2017.
![Blue Öyster Cult 2012 Edmonton 223b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Blue_%C3%96yster_Cult_2012_Edmonton_223b.JPG)
Buck Dharma stated in February 2019 that the band would be recording a new album to be released by fall. On July 10, 2019, it was announced that the band had signed to Frontiers Music, and would in fact be releasing the new album in 2020. "It's been a long time since BÖC's last studio album. Recording with Danny, Richie and Jules should be a great experience as we've been touring together for years, and Buck and I look forward to including them in the creative and recording process," said Bloom. "The current band is GREAT and has never been recorded other than live, so we feel now's the time for new songs to be written and recorded. About half of the songs for the new record exist and the rest will be finished during the process," added Buck Dharma. In February 2020, Richie Castellano posted a short video to Facebook featuring himself and Eric Bloom, stating that the band are working on the new Blue Oyster Cult record remotely by using ConnectionOpen online audio collaboration tool.
''The Symbol Remains'' (2020–present)
In August 2020, the band announced on their website that their fifteenth studio album ''
The Symbol Remains
''The Symbol Remains'' is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on October 9, 2020.
The title comes from a lyric in the song "Shadow of California" on Blue Öyster Cult's 1983 LP ''The Revölution by Night' ...
'' would be released on October 9, 2020. The span of nineteen years between ''Curse of the Hidden Mirror'' and ''The Symbol Remains'' marks the longest gap between studio albums in Blue Öyster Cult's career. The album was released to a positive critical reception, with tracks such as "Box In My Head" and "The Alchemist" receiving high praise.
In October 2022, during their European headlining tour, Blue Öyster Cult supported
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
at five arena shows in the United Kingdom.
Musical style
Blue Öyster Cult is a
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
band, whose music has been described as
heavy metal,
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
,
occult rock
Occult rock (also known as doom rock or witch rock) is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the late 1960s to early 1970s, pioneered by bands such as Coven and Black Widow.
The genre is influenced by hard rock, proto-metal, psychedelic ...
, biker boogie,
acid rock
Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, di ...
, and
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
.
They have also been recognized for helping pioneer genres such as
stoner metal
Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep. ...
. The band has also experimented with additional genres on specific albums. An example of this is ''Mirrors''.
The band is influenced by artists such as Alice Cooper,
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
,
The Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
,
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...
,
MC5
MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...
,
The Blues Project
The Blues Project is a band from the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City that was formed in 1965 and originally split up in 1967. Their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles. They are most remembered as one of the most artfu ...
,
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
, and
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
.
While Blue Öyster Cult has been noted for heavy rock, they would often add their own tongue-in-cheek style.
Keeping with their image, the band would often include out-of-context fragments of Pearlman's ''The Soft Doctrines of Imaginos'' into their lyrics, giving their songs cryptic meanings.
Additionally, the band would keep a folder of Meltzer's and Pearlman's word associations to insert into their music.
Band name and logo
![Saturn symbol](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Saturn_symbol.svg)
The name "Blue Öyster Cult" came from a 1960s poem written by manager Sandy Pearlman. It was part of his "Imaginos" poetry, later used more extensively on their album ''Imaginos'' (1988). Pearlman had also come up with the band's earlier name, "Soft White Underbelly", from a phrase used by Winston Churchill in describing Italy during World War II. In Pearlman's poetry, the "Blue Oyster Cult" was a group of aliens who had assembled secretly to guide Earth's history. "Initially, the band was not happy with the name, but settled for it, and went to work preparing to record their first release..."
In a 1976 interview published in the U.K. music magazine ''
ZigZag
A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular.
In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...
'', Pearlman told the story explaining the origin of the band's name was an anagram of "Cully Stout Beer".
The addition of an
umlaut was suggested by Allen Lanier, but Richard Meltzer claims to have suggested it just after Pearlman came up with the name, reportedly "because of the
Wagnerian
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
aspect of Metal". Other bands later copied
the practice of using umlauts or diacritic marks in their own band names, such as
Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...
,
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...
,
Queensrÿche
Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...
and parodied by
Spın̈al Tap.
The hook-and-cross logo was designed by fellow Stony Brook student Bill Gawlik for his master's thesis
in January 1972,
and appears on all of the band's albums.
[ In Greek mythology, "... the hook-and-cross symbol is that of Kronos (Cronus), the king of the Titans and father of Zeus ... and is the ]alchemical symbol
Alchemical symbols, originally devised as part of alchemy, were used to denote some elements and some compounds until the 18th century. Although notation like this was mostly standardized, style and symbol varied between alchemists, so this pag ...
for lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
(a heavy metal), one of the heaviest of metals." Sandy Pearlman considered this, combined with the heavy and distorted guitar sound of the band and decided the description " heavy metal" would be apt for the band's sound. The hook-and-cross symbol also resembled the astrological symbol
Historically, astrological and astronomical symbols overlapped. Frequently used symbols include signs of the zodiac and classical planets. These originate from medieval Byzantine codices. Their current form is a product of the European Renaissan ...
for Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...
, the Roman god of agriculture, and the sickle
A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting, or reaping, grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock, ei ...
, which is associated with both Kronos (Cronus) and Saturn (both the planet and the Roman god). The logo's "... metaphysical, alchemical and mythological connotations, combined with its similarity to some religious symbols gave it a flair of decadence and mystery ..."
The band was billed, for the only time, as "''The'' Blue Öyster Cult" on the cover and label of their second album, ''Tyranny and Mutation''.
Legacy and influence
Blue Öyster Cult have been influential to the realm of hard rock and heavy metal, leading them to being referred to as "the thinking man's heavy metal band" due to their often cryptic lyrics, literate songwriting, and links to famous authors. They have influenced many acts including Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
, Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
, Fates Warning
Fates Warning is an American progressive metal band, formed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1982 by vocalist John Arch, guitarists Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini, bassist Joe DiBiase, and drummer Steve Zimmerman. There have been numerous lineup ...
, Iced Earth
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band formed in Tampa, Florida and currently based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer and original drummer ...
, Cirith Ungol
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and ...
, Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
, Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with m ...
, Ratt
Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...
, Steel Panther
Steel Panther is an American comedic glam metal band from Los Angeles, California. They are known for their profane and humorous lyrics as well as their exaggerated onstage pastiche of the stereotypical glam metal lifestyle.
History
Metal Sh ...
, Green River Green River may refer to:
Rivers
Canada
* Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River
*Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte
*Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...
(and later Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...
), Body Count
A body count is the total number of people killed in a particular event. In combat, a body count is often based on the number of confirmed kills, but occasionally only an estimate. Often used in reference to military combat, the term can also r ...
, Possessed
Possessed may refer to:
Possession
* Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else
** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body
*** ...
, Candlemass, Saint Vitus
Vitus (), whose name is sometimes rendered Guy or Guido, was a Christian martyr from Sicily. His surviving hagiography is pure legend. The dates of his actual life are unknown.Basil Watkins, ''The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical D ...
, Trouble
Trouble may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin
* ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film
* ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film
* ''Trouble'' ...
, Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...
, White Zombie, Kvelertak
Kvelertak () is a Norwegian heavy metal band from Stavanger, formed in 2007. The group comprises vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen, guitarists Vidar Landa, Bjarte Lund Rolland and Maciek Ofstad, bassist Marvin Nygaard and drummer Håvard Takle Ohr. Foun ...
, HIM, Turbonegro
Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) is a Norwegian rock band, active from 1989 to 1998 and from 2002 to the present. The band combines glam rock, punk rock, and hard rock into a self-described "deathpunk" musical style.
History
Early years (1 ...
, Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and are now considered instrumental in Australia's musical growth.
Hist ...
, The Cult
The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury's ...
, The Minutemen, Firehose, Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, ha ...
, Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guit ...
, Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...
, Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee is an American jam band originally from South Bend, Indiana. The band experiments with many musical styles, including rock, metal, funk, jazz, blues, reggae, electronic, bluegrass, country, and folk. They have toured regularly ...
, Stabbing Westward, Royal Trux
Royal Trux was an American alternative rock band active from 1987 to 2001, reuniting in 2015 but disbanded once again in 2019. It was founded by Neil Hagerty (vocals, guitar) and Jennifer Herrema (vocals).
History
While still a teenager, Hagerty ...
, and Moe.
The band's influence has extended beyond the musical sphere. The lyrics of "Astronomy" have been named by author Shawn St. Jean as inspirational to the later chapters of his fantasy novel ''Clotho's Loom'', wherein Sandy Pearlman's "Four Winds Bar" provides the setting for a portion of the action. Titles and lines from the band's songs provided structure and narrative for the third book in Robert Galbraith's (a pseudonym for J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and Philanthropy, philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to ...
), series of Cormoran Strike novels, ''Career of Evil
''Career of Evil'' is a 2015 crime fiction novel by J. K. Rowling, published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It is the third novel in the ''Cormoran Strike'' series of detective novels and is followed by ''Lethal White'' in 2018 and '' ...
''.[Christobel Kent]
Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith review – a daft but enjoyable hunt for a serial killer
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', October 21, 2015.
Their hit single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" was featured in the famous ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch " More Cowbell". The original recording was produced at The Record Plant in New York by David Lucas, who sang background vocals with Roeser, and introduced the now-famous cowbell part, which may have been played by himself, Albert Bouchard, or Eric Bloom.
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" was also used in writer/director John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
's horror film classic, ''Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
'' (1978), the opening sequence of the miniseries adaptation of ''The Stand
''The Stand'' is a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which the few survivin ...
'' (1994) by Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
, and covered by The Mutton Birds
The Mutton Birds were a New Zealand rock music group formed in Auckland in 1991 by Ross Burge, David Long and Don McGlashan, with Alan Gregg joining a year later. Four of their albums reached the top 10 on the New Zealand Albums Chart ...
for Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
's horror-comedy film ''The Frighteners
''The Frighteners'' is a 1996 supernatural comedy horror film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with Fran Walsh. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Dee Wallace Stone, Jeffrey Combs, R. Lee Ermey ...
'' (1996). "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" was also used throughout the comedy film ''The Stoned Age
''The Stoned Age'' is a 1994 American comedy film directed by James Melkonian, following two long-haired stoners who spend a night touring the suburbs of Los Angeles, looking for alcohol, parties, and young women.
Plot
The film is set in Torr ...
'' (1994) and plays a role in its storyline. In the film '' Gone Girl'' (2014), the song plays on the radio during a car driving scene with actor Ben Affleck. The song was also used as the opening theme and main story element in the 1996 FMV computer game "Ripper", by Take Two Interactive, and was also featured in the 2021 video game '' Returnal''. The lyrics for "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" are featured in the introduction of Stephen King's book ''The Stand''.
Members
Current members
* Buck Dharma
Donald Roeser (born November 12, 1947), known by his stage name Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and ...
– lead guitar, lead vocals and backing vocals (1967–present)
* Eric Bloom
Eric Jay Bloom (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist, guitar and keyboard/synthesizer player for the long-running band Blue Öyster Cult, with work on more than 20 albu ...
– lead vocals and backing vocals, "stun guitar", keyboards, synthesizers (1969–present)
* Danny Miranda – bass, backing vocals (1995–2004, 2017–present)
* Richie Castellano – keyboards, rhythm guitar, additional lead guitar, backing vocals, additional lead vocals (2007–present), bass (2004–2007)
* Jules Radino – drums, percussion (2004–present)
Lyrics
During their career, Blue Öyster Cult have frequently collaborated with outside lyricists, although in the late 1970s the band members also wrote lyrics for some of their songs. Lyricists for Blue Öyster Cult have included all the original members (Bloom, Roeser, Albert and Joe Bouchard, and Lanier), producer Sandy Pearlman, and writers Richard Meltzer, Patti Smith, Michael Moorcock, Eric Van Lustbader
Eric Van Lustbader (born December 24, 1946) is an American author of thriller and fantasy novels. He has published as Eric Lustbader, Eric V. Lustbader, and Eric Van Lustbader.
He is a graduate of New York's Stuyvesant High School and Columb ...
, Jim Carroll, Broadway Blotto and John Shirley.
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...
'' (1972)
* ''Tyranny and Mutation
''Tyranny and Mutation'' (stylized on the cover as ''THE BLVE ÖYSTER CVLT: TYRANNY AND MVTATION'') is the second studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on February 11, 1973 by Columbia Records. It was produced by ...
'' (1973)
* ''Secret Treaties
A secret treaty is a treaty ( international agreement) in which the contracting state parties have agreed to conceal the treaty's existence or substance from other states and the public.Helmut Tichy and Philip Bittner, "Article 80" in Olivier D ...
'' (1974)
* ''Agents of Fortune
''Agents of Fortune'' is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released by Columbia Records on May 21, 1976.
The Platinum-selling album peaked at No. 29 on the U.S. Billboard chart, while the cryptic single "( ...
'' (1976)
* '' Spectres'' (1977)
* ''Mirrors
A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...
'' (1979)
* ''Cultösaurus Erectus
''Cultösaurus Erectus'' is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on June 14, 1980. Following an experiment with a more-polished sound on the album ''Mirrors'' (released the previous year), this recordi ...
'' (1980)
* ''Fire of Unknown Origin
''Fire of Unknown Origin'' is the eighth studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on June 22, 1981. It was produced by Martin Birch.
The album, which included the Top 40 hit "Burnin' for You" (#1 on Billboard's A ...
'' (1981)
* ''The Revölution by Night
''The Revölution by Night'' is the ninth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on November 8, 1983. The album was intended to capitalize on the success of '' Fire of Unknown Origin'' two years prior, hence the ble ...
'' (1983)
* ''Club Ninja
''Club Ninja'' is the tenth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on December 10, 1985 in the United Kingdom and on February 11, 1986 in the United States. The album was intended as a comeback for the band, whose pr ...
'' (1985)
* ''Imaginos
''Imaginos'' is the eleventh studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult. It was released in 1988, and was their last recording with their original record label, CBS/Columbia Records.
The album took nearly eight years to c ...
'' (1988)
* ''Cult Classic
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
'' (1994)
* ''Heaven Forbid
''Heaven Forbid'' is the thirteenth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on March 24, 1998. It was the band's first studio album with new material in a decade (not counting the 1992 soundtrack to ''Bad Channels'' ...
'' (1998)
* ''Curse of the Hidden Mirror
''Curse of the Hidden Mirror'' is the fourteenth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in June 5, 2001. The only single from the record was the poorly received "Pocket". Lackluster sales and poor relations led to ...
'' (2001)
* ''The Symbol Remains
''The Symbol Remains'' is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on October 9, 2020.
The title comes from a lyric in the song "Shadow of California" on Blue Öyster Cult's 1983 LP ''The Revölution by Night' ...
'' (2020)
Bibliography
* ''Blue Öyster Cult: Secrets Revealed!'', by Martin Popoff
Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionally ...
, 303 pages (Canada, 2016)
* ''Blue Öyster Cult: La Carrière du mal'', by Mathieu Bollon and Aurélien Lemant, Camion Blanc publishing, 722 pages (France, 2013)
*''on track...'' ''Blue Öyster Cult (every album, every song),'' by Jacob Holm-Lupo, Sonic Bond Publishing, 158 pages (UK, 2019)
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Oyster Cult
1967 establishments in New York (state)
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Columbia Records artists
Hard rock musical groups from New York (state)
Heavy metal musical groups from New York (state)
Musical groups established in 1967
Musical groups from Long Island
Musical quintets
Occult rock musical groups
Psychedelic rock music groups from New York (state)